The pyridine-carboxamide ligand PhNHC(=O)-2-C5H4N reacts with Na+[AuCl4](-) either by cation exchange, to give [PhNHC(=O)-2-C5H4NH][AuCl4], or by ligand substitution to give [AuCl2(kappa(2)-N,N'-PhNC(=O)-2-C5H4N)]. Similar reactions with bis(pyridine-carboxamide) ligands gave complexes [AuCl2(kappa(2)-N,N'-RNC(=O)-2-C5H4N)], with R = (CH2)(3)NHC(=O)-2-C5H4N or 2-C6H4NHC (=O)-2-C5H4N, in which the ligands are bidentate, but no complexes with tetradentate ligands could be isolated. The complex [AuCl2(kappa(2)-N,N'-PhNC(=O)-2-C5H4N)] in methanol solution is an efficient catalyst for oxidative cyanation of PhNMe2 to give PhMeNCH2CN, and it is proposed that the catalysis involves gold(I), gold(II) and gold(III) intermediates. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.